Gay student's expulsion for stun gun overturned

by Carrie Ritchie - Aug. 7, 2012 03:23 PMIndianapolis Star

INDIANAPOLIS -- The expulsion of a gay student who brought a stun gun to school to protect himself from bullies has been overturned.

In a letter to Darnell "Dynasty" Young and his attorneys, an Indianapolis Public Schools administrator said Young would be allowed to start school when the rest of the students returned Monday, even though he had been expelled until January.

"Education is and should be Darnell's No. 1 priority," wrote Dexter Suggs, who was tasked with reviewing Young's expulsion.

Young and his attorneys spoke with Suggs last Wednesday during a meeting to review the expulsion. The letter was dated Friday, and his attorneys received it Monday.

Even though the decision paves the way for Young to return to school, an attorney for the family said he's still disappointed because the district hasn't acknowledged that it had a duty to protect Young from bullies.

"The district not only failed to protect Dynasty, it appears that school officials actually put the blame on him for not toning down the way he dressed and characterizing him as flamboyant," said Chris Stoll, senior staff attorney for the National Center for Lesbian Rights who's representing the family. "The problem here is not with Dynasty; it's with a school district that failed to protect him from constant harassment."

Spokeswoman Kim Hooper said the district had no comment on the decision

Young, 17, has enrolled in a charter school to finish his education. According to the letter, if he wanted to return to Indianapolis Public Schools, he would have to enroll at an alternative school instead of at Arsenal Tech High School, which he attended until he was expelled.

An independent arbitrator recommended expulsion for Young in May because he brandished the stun gun during an April 16 incident at Arsenal Tech.

At the time, IPS said it supported the arbitrator's recommendation because Young broke the rules by bringing a weapon onto school property.

The expulsion prevented Young from finishing the second semester of his junior year and would've kept him out of school for the first semester of his senior year.

The letter says the district overturned Young's expulsion based on letters from Young and his mother, Chelisa Grimes, as well as "character statements regarding Darnell's conduct since expulsion."

Young also talked with Suggs about wanting to come back to school during the meeting last Wednesday, Stoll said.

Grimes has said she gave Young the stun gun because the school wasn't doing enough to protect him from bullies.

Students taunted him with homophobic slurs and threatened to beat him up.

According to a police report, Young was attacked in the school cafeteria last November, and police had to use pepper spray to subdue the student who was punching Young. That student was arrested and charged with battery.

On the day that Young brandished the stun gun, he said six students approached him and threatened to beat him up. He fired the stun gun into the air to scare them away, but that got him in trouble.

None of the students who allegedly threatened Young was punished because Young didn't know their names, Arsenal Tech Principal Larry Yarrell said earlier this year.

Grimes said she and Young complained about the bullying to school officials multiple times, but they seemed to blame Young, who wore Grimes' purses and jewelry, for being "too flamboyant."

Yarrell said staff members were trying to help Young by asking him to "tone down" his outfits.

Young's story went national, and he appeared on radio and television shows, including "Good Morning America."

His expulsion sparked a local protest outside of a school board meeting in May, and the board voted to hire an outside firm to investigate the alleged bullying. Stoll said he believes that investigation is ongoing.

"I don't understand why adults would stand back and let any student be threatened," Young said in a prepared statement after Indianapolis Public Schools overturned his expulsion. "This problem would stop if school officials took action. By doing nothing to stop the harassment, they send the message that it is okay to harass and attack gay students, and nothing will happen if you do."

Grimes also expressed her continued disappointment with the district.

"This school district needs to make some real changes to make sure that every student can attend school safely and with dignity," Grimes said in a statement. "I hope this will be a wake-up call to other parents to find out what is going on at your child's school and demand that school officials take this issue seriously. If we don't stand up for our children, no one else will